If I Fell
by CrazyCatie
Summary: If I fell in love with you, would you promise to be true? OC Scarlett knows that she's going to fall in love with one of her best guy friends, but who will it be: handsome Tommy, musician Phil, weirdo Dil, or the new and improved Chuckie?
1. And I Saw Her Standing There

**Okay, I did a little experimenting with the Rugrats in another fic I did, but that was with Lil and Tommy mostly. In this one, I wanted to bring in a different character. We're just going to go along and pretend this character, Scarlett, was in there the whole time, from when they were babies. Also, I really wanted to try out a new pairing that I saw on a forum that, honestly, I never really thought about. This is just the first chapter, though, and I really hope to have more in different character perspectives. Enjoy!**

"Yeah, but Scar, I really don't think that you should," my best friend Lil Deville muttered from across the countertop at Java Lava. She didn't even look up from her homework, but she got this weird little crinkle in her forehead, which meant she meant business.

I sipped my mango smoothie contentedly, sliding back in my seat and shaking my head with a cool smile. "You don't understand, Lil! It's one of them, I know it is! I'm determined."

Lil finally looked up, narrowing her eyes as she did so. "Why do you have to be friends with them first for them to be your soulmate? Isn't it more probable it's the random person that you almost hit while they're crossing the street because they're listening to music and they don't notice anything else?" She paused for a breath, and then continued. "Besides, we know it's not Chuckie."

This took me by surprise. "Why not Chuckie? He's not taken, is he?"

Lil's face got a little red, and she ducked her head, pretending to be picking up a napkin from the floor. When she returned, she was relatively normal colored again.

"No! It's just…uh…you and him don't click, you know?" It seemed to me that she was frantically grabbing at anything she could, but I would spare her and let her win.

"Maybe…then it's either Tommy, your brother, or…Dil." I tried not to make a face. I really loved Tommy Pickles's little brother Dil, like my own brother, in fact, but he was just so freaking weird! _Please, God, don't let my soulmate be Dil!_, I thought, looking toward the ceiling for good measure.

"Psh, it is not my brother." Lil looked back down at her homework, scribbling in an answer.

I rolled my eyes. This was why I came to Kimi first with my brilliant idea. True, Kimi was more of a schemer than a listener, but at least she hadn't eliminated anyone that wasn't a Pickles without giving me a say. In our group, Lil, Kimi, and me, I was the listener/advice giver. Lil just had too much going on inside her head and didn't often practice self-control.

"Why can't it be Phil?" Admittedly, when I first came up with my Soulmate Plan, I actually did have Tommy in mind. Tommy and Scarlett, doesn't that sound nice? And nobody could say that Tommy Pickles wasn't the most adorable non-football playing boy in our junior class.

"He's gross," Lil said simply, shrugging in a nonchalant kind of way.

Just as she was saying this, the bell clanged, recognizing the entering of another person. I looked up quickly, not wanting the wrong person to hear this conversation. But, instead of one face looking back down at me, I saw three.

It was funny how much we'd changed since we were younger. Chuckie, who was a year older than us, had grown into his wild orange hair, which he still wore the same way. However, besides that, all traces of nerdiness and gawkiness were gone. He'd gotten contacts in eighth grade, sprouted up to 6'4'' last year, and worked on some muscle since then. He smiled at us when he walked in, revealing perfectly straight, non-braced teeth.

Phil walked in behind him, his guitar case slung over one shoulder. He tossed his head, shaking back his wavy, light brown locks. If anyone of us had changed (and that included Chuckie) it had to be Phil. He was tall too, a little bit over six feet, and thin. When we were kids, he used to get into all kinds of trouble, and I guess he still does, except now he's super charming and can get out of just about anything with a quirky smile. But his new thing (or actually not so new, since he actually started taking lessons in seventh grade) was music. It was what set him apart from all the other guys I was friends with. He was amazing at guitar, and had a set of pipes to match.

Tommy walked in last, making heads turn in his direction, as always. He was shorter than the other boys, maybe 5'11'' at his best, but he had the features of a god. Through his white T-shirt you could easily see his well-defined pecs and abs, which he was not flaunting. Then you moved up to his face and saw that, and if you weren't already on the floor hyperventilating, you certainly were now. He had that sort of cute button nose that people pay actual money for, crystal clear blue eyes, and short, purple hair.

All three of them waved mockingly at Kimi behind the counter, and then continued over to us. Lil immediately sat up, dropping her textbook into her backpack, and sliding over towards the window. I followed suit, except I hadn't even bothered to take my Bio work out, seeing as all I wanted to do was figure out which of these three boys I was secretly in love with. Oh, God, was I pathetic.

"Hello, ladies," Chuckie said casually, sliding into the booth next to Lil, followed by Phil. He tried to throw his arm over the back of her seat, but the 'throwing' part sort of resulted in him knocking over Lil's strawberry-banana smoothie which, thankfully, missed her homework by centimeters. Yes, centimeters.

Chuckie and Lil both flushed deep red, and Chuckie pushed Phil out of the booth, striding up to the counter and asking Kimi for some extra napkins. Phil rolled his dark green eyes, moving closer to Lil.

Tommy, who had sat next almost uncomfortably close to me, smiled and shook his head. "Same old Chuck," he declared, grabbing my smoothie and downing the rest of it. I cast my hands up in protest, but it was to late.

"Here, I saved you some," he smirked, sending the plastic cup down the table a little bit so that it crashed into my hands.

"Tommy!" I playfully smacked his shoulder, and he chuckled like guys do when girls hit them and they think it should hurt except it doesn't.

Phil, who had been watching our exchange with a light smile and eyes slightly narrowed, cleared his throat. Tommy and I both glanced over at him.

"What?" we asked at the same time, looking at each other and adding, "Jinx!"

"Um, are you two done over there?" Phil inquired, resting his chin in his hand in mock-curiosity.

Lil snorted freely, shaking her head at me. I blushed a little bit.

"Done with what?" Tommy wanted to know, looking honestly clueless.

Phil looked directly at me with that intense stare. After a rather awkward moment in which nothing was said, Chuckie came back to the table, carrying with him a large wad of paper napkins for the already sticky and almost dried drink spill.

After Chuckie was back our conversation flowed as usual, though none of us had forgotten that sudden tension.

Would that be how things were if I were dating Tommy for real? I couldn't even remember the last awkward moment we'd had in a conversation….

Oh, wait, yes I could. We were in Tommy's basement and we were asking each other Would You Rather questions, and Dil asked me who I would rather kiss, Tommy or Phil. Yeah, that was a pretty bad one. I mean, it wasn't like I could pick one of them, they were both there! So I said, "Neither. It would be Chuckie." But no one laughed, everyone looking away at the exact same moment.

But anyways, I really hadn't liked that tension. And I was certain that I wasn't alone, because during our banter I had accidentally looked over at Phil, who was staring at me all concentrated, as though he was trying (and failing miserably) to read my mind and it was frustrating him. Our eyes met, and I got this weird bubbly feeling in my stomach, and I couldn't decide if it was good or bad, and I never had the chance because he almost immediately dropped his gaze, blushing furiously.

But just what that meant, I was not sure.


	2. I Am the Walrus

**Alright, it's only been, what, two days and already I'm updating. I had the best idea ever, and just had to write it down. Well, then writing it down sort of turned into something more…and well, yeah. So, in case you were wondering, even though you probably weren't, the title and all the chapter names are Beatles songs, in my feeble attempt to unite two things that I love. Well, here's something new for you guys!**

Tommy invited me over to his house after school today. Alone.

I mean, if he really doesn't see why the others think there is something going on between us, then he is stupider than Angelica. Because really? Who does that? Invites one of their best FEMALE friends over, all alone, without any parental supervision, I mean. Alright, this is what happened:

So I was walking to school this morning with Phil, Lil, Tommy, and Dil on our way to get Kimi and Chuckie. We were talking about how Tommy had randomly hooked up with this girl on the cheerleading squad, Sydney Brussels, and how when Tommy left without asking her out she cried.

"That is so mean, Tommy! Why would you do that?" I groaned, disappointed beyond belief. What the hell was the matter with him? "I mean, what if Brad Owens or somebody like that did that to me?"

"I'd beat his ass," Phil muttered from the other side of the side walk. Everyone turned to look at him. "What?" he asked, shrugging, "was that one for Tommy?"

Tommy rolled his eyes at Phil and turned back to me. "See, that's the thing. Something like that could never happen to you, because you're too smart. Sydney? That girl don't got a thing going for her besides her looks. But, Scar, you've got it all."

It was quiet for a second, and then Lil said, "What if it happened to me?"

"Wouldn't." Tommy stated simply and confidently.

"Kimi," Phil tried, looking over Lil to see Tommy's expression.

Tommy shook his head. "Never."

"How do you _know_ though?" I asked, keeping my well-trained eyes on his and not on his pecs (which were once again very much showing through the tee he had on).

Tommy laughed rather bitterly. "I've been with a lot of girls." Something about the way he said this, all indifferently, gave me the chills.

"Okay…Angelica!" Lil grinned, knowing he'd be stuck.

Tommy bit his lip. "Yeah…yeah, Angelica is one of them. But I wouldn't beat anyone's ass for her."

We all laughed, shaking our heads and not having the heart to agree. Sometimes Angelica could be okay. Sometimes….

"What about Suzie?" I asked, just to hear him speak again. I was seriously thinking that he might be the one I was in love with.

Tommy didn't say anything, his mouth forming a tight line. Phil and I exchanged a look over Lil's head. What the hell?

"Um, she's too smart, too?" Phil attempted, raising one eyebrow in a way that was quite sexy, I must say.

"Duh." Tommy grunted, maybe a little too forcefully. Lil bit her lip, side-glancing at me. Tommy always had something to say.

That was when he asked me. Well, okay, maybe he didn't exactly ask me alone, but he might as well have. "So, guys, you're coming over to help me make my new movie, right?" He looked at us expectantly, all cheery once again. That was so weird.

"Actually, no I have soccer practice," Lil said a little bit uneasily. She looked kind of nervous at the sudden topic change.

"Phil?"

Phil reached one arm back behind his head, making a funny face. "Sorry, dude, I gotta finish a song. Didn't I already tell you this? I'm so close and-"

Tommy cut him off. "Scarlett?"

"Huh?"

"Are you coming?" he asked slowly, as though talking to a little kid.

That's when I realized. Of course Tommy knew Lil had soccer practice, Lil ALWAYS has soccer practice. And duh, Tommy is actually the type of friend who listens. So obviously he knew about Phil's stupid song. And he had never mentioned anything about Chuckie and Kimi coming.

"What's the point, nobody can act but me and Dil, unless you want your parents in it." I gave him a sweetly sarcastic smile.

"Uh, actually my parents are taking Dil to a gumball convention or something, so none of them will be home."

Phil and Lil's eyebrows shot up in sync, but Phil kept his head straight ahead while Lil turned her head and stared directly at me. Great. Thanks, Lil.

"Oh. Sure I will, I guess." I muttered uncomfortably, scratching my nose. Tommy grinned at me, then walked up the Finster's front walkway to ring the doorbell that signaled our arrival to Chuckie and Kimi.

Lil immediately turned to face me. "So it sounds to me like you've decided then." Phil, upon hearing this, joined our circle.

"Decided what?" he inquired, jumping in easily.

"No, actually, not at all." I said, ignoring him. "I can't be sure yet. I strongly suspect it, but no, I haven't decided."

Lil nodded wisely, but Phil asked again, hotly this time, "What have you not decided?!"

"None of your business!" I snapped him in the old, childish way I always used to whenever Phil was prying. And Phil was usually prying.

Phil put his hands up in surrender, but Lil snorted. "Actually it is totally his business, Scar."

I shot her a look, which she returned, but didn't say anything else, seeing as at just that moment Tommy, Kimi, and Chuckie joined our conversation told we had to go if we planned to make it to school by first period.

And now, can I tell you, I honestly cannot wait for school to end.

**That was chapter two, please please R&R, because any author knows how much that it means to us! Next chapter isn't going to be from Scarlett's perspective, so read up and tell me what you think!**


	3. Love Me Do

**Okay, well, I've decided to give this story another try after I started it and I saw it going nowhere. So, honestly, I have no idea what's going to happen after this particular update, but we'll see I guess.**

Okay, I was a little nervous about going over to Tommy's. And that's a little bit irrational, right? I mean, he's been one of my best friends since I was like…I don't know…one year old! Besides, I live right next to him. So what's the big deal?

Okay, I will tell you exactly what the big deal is. Ever since I realized that I was either going to fall in love with Tommy or Phil (or I guess Dil or Chuckie, though apparently I can't even look at Chuckie according to Lil and Dil…I hate to say it but Dil is from another planet. Okay, I really DON'T hate to say it.) I have been nervous around them both. More Tommy actually, because I am suddenly moving out of friend-mode and into normal-girl-mode and now I'm seeing him for what he really is which is…hot.

So now I'm actually at his house and he keeps going on and on about how all his friends should be as dedicated and supportive of his films as I am. But in truth, I'm not really listening. I just keep staring at his glittery, bright blue eyes and the way his toned biceps flex when he picks up that video camera.

"So what did you think?" Tommy inquired, not even looking at me but keeping his eyes focused on the T.V. screen which had previously displayed his newest short.

"It was great." Duh. It was a common known fact that everything Tommy Pickles did was great. Everything. "But, uh, didn't you want me to come over so that we could do something else."

Tommy scrunched his face up confusedly. "Scar…."

Immediately I found my mistake. "Oh, oh God! Sorry, I meant that you were going to film something with me. Not…not that." Jesus Christ. Did all guys have to think like that?

Tommy chuckled, turning away from the T.V. screen. "Actually, I kind of knew that we would be the only ones. I just sort of used that for a cover. I mean, I didn't want them to think anything." Oh, please, like they aren't thinking things already.

"Right, right. Then, umm, what is it?" How pathetic was I? My heart was actually starting to beat faster. I had some major butterfly action going down in my stomach. This was nervous first date shit, so why was I feeling it right now?

"Oh," Tommy began, ducking his head a little bit, not meeting my eyes. "Yeah, I wanted to ask you…I wanted to ask you a question, I guess."

My God, I was turning into an average girl around a boy who used to be like my brother. I was totally hanging on every word, leaning in and holding my breath. I mean seriously! What the hell?

"And what would that be, do you guess?" I tried to throw a bit of humor into our very serious (at least for me) conversation, but he didn't pick up on it.

"What do you think girls think of me?" Tommy finally met my gaze, lifting his eyes and biting his lip. What kind of question was that? Wasn't it obvious what girls thought about him? I knew he wasn't THAT stupid, obviously his movies showed me that.

I decided to be coy. "Would this be girls in general, or just one specific girl?" Please say it's me, please say it's me, please say it's me.

Tommy grinned, hiding his face in his hands shyly. "You know me so well." I heard him say through his muffle.

I smiled lightly, waiting for him to say it, to ask me out. _This is it, this is it_, I thought to myself. But he continued to not say anything, still hidden.

"Tommy, you can stop with the hand stuff, I know exactly what's going on." I tried to hide my triumphant smirk unsuccessfully as he picked his head up slowly.

"How?"

I bit my grin away, trying not to laugh at how fragile he looked right now. It was weird seeing someone you've known all your life as being strong, independent, and outgoing so docile and unsure of himself. Tommy had always been the leader of our little gang, the one to call the shots, and now he was acting like a scared little boy. And to think, I did this to him!

"Just say it, I won't laugh. I swear to God." I stared straight at him expectantly, the anticipation building high in my chest.

Tommy took a deep, shuttering breath. "Ok. I think I like someone."

I silently cursed him for not going outright and saying it. "Oh really?"

Tommy gave me a quirky sort-of-smile. "Yeah. But if you really know what I'm thinking then you already know who, right?"

Shit. Stupid, stupid big mouth. You will never get me anywhere, do you know that? _It's me,_ I promised myself. Sure, of course it was. Was there any need to doubt that. Who else would it be?

"Sure I do."

Tommy sighed like he had just taken a big load off his chest. He leaned back in his desk chair and beamed at me. "I'm so glad I have you, do you know that?" Okay, so, uh, what the hell was that supposed to mean. I knew he liked me…wasn't he going to ask me out or ANYTHING???

"Uh-huh. So is there anything you want to ask me?" I tried to give him my sexiest look, but that apparently didn't work, seeing as he gave the strangest look.

"Sure, are your eyes okay?" Tommy chuckled, reaching out to tuck a lock of curls behind my ear. My heart rate accelerated rapidly as he reached his hand out to me, then decreased as he pulled it away. It would have been almost comical had I not been so frustrated.

"Yeah, they're fine. Anything else?"

Tommy's face went from joking to serious in a matter of seconds. God, he was so moody lately! There was a brief, but still tangible, pause, where we both looked anywhere but at each other.

"Do you think she likes me?" Tommy asked quietly, his big baby blues looking out the window instead of at me.

This was an odd question to ask, wasn't it? Surely he should be asking 'Do YOU like me?' right?

Maybe he just wanted to play this stupid little game we had going for a little while longer, or maybe he just developed short term memory loss. Either way, I decided to go along with it.

"Possibly. But you'll never know unless you be up front about it with her."

Tommy seemed to be pondering this, and was just about to say something when we heard a song start to play from my front right pocket.

_Damn you a sexy bitch, _

_You a sexy bitch._

_Damn you a sexy bitch,_

_Damn girl!_

It was my ringtone for Lil, and Tommy knew that. He smiled knowingly and spun around in his desk chair to face his computer.

"What is it Lil?" I asked, trying not to be too agitated. After all, she didn't know that Tommy Pickles, a.k.a. the possible future love of my life was about to ask me out.

"It's an emergency, I need you to get to my house RIGHT NOW!" Lil's voice sounded panicked, and she seemed to be shouting over something.

I glanced at the clock. 5:12. That meant she had been home from soccer practice for about twenty-seven minutes. What the hell kind of emergency could she create in twenty-seven minutes.

"Well I'm at Tommy's house." I tried not to sound like it was a big deal or anything, because to any other member of our group it totally was not. But in reality it kind of was.

"I don't care if you're at Matt Damon's house; just get the hell over here!" Lil shrieked, probably intending to have me recognized the vitality of me getting to her house, but only making me laugh. When a normal girl would use Taylor Lautner, Lil would use Matt Damon. She always said that he was super BA in the Bourne movies, and didn't care if he was over twice her age.

"Stop laughing at me!" she screeched, forcing me to hold the phone a little bit away from my ear. Tommy turned around with his eyebrows raised, probably hearing everything she had said.

"Okay, okay. I'll be there in a few." I snapped the phone shut and stood up from my perch on Tommy's bed, shrugging my shoulders when he glanced my way. "Lil's having an 'emergency'." I made air quotes around the word to make it clear to him that I wasn't taking her too seriously.

Tommy nodded his head wisely. "So I hear." He followed me over to where I now stood, halfway out the door, and continued, "Thanks so much for coming. Nobody else would have put up with me, you know."

I waited for him to say more, something much deeper and less friendy, but he didn't say anything else. "Alright then…I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure." I turned away slowly, hoping that he would stop me, and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he did. "Scarlett, wait…."

He started to lean in, but I was so nervous I didn't even close my eyes. I watched as his lips came closer, closer, closer before finally resting…right on the top of my cheekbone, near my temple.

"You're an amazing person, and an even better friend," he whispered, his mouth still touching my skin. This sent shivers down my spine. Oh, my God! I wished so badly that I was officially with him. Or that he had officially asked me out. That would have been just as amazing.

I walked away from Tommy's house feeling a fraction disappointed because things hadn't gone exactly the way I wanted them to, but mostly light-hearted because one, Tommy had sort of admitted his feelings for me, and two, he kissed me. Well, on the cheek, but that's still a kiss.

I practically pranced up the Deville's familiar front walk, smiling and letting the breeze whip across my face. I was happy, happy for real, for the first time in a long time.

I knocked carelessly on Lil's front door, only to have it wrenched open by Lil herself, looking, erm, frazzled to say the least. Her hair was thrown up in a messy knot, and her eyes looked wide and red, not like she had been crying, but like she'd been yelling so loudly that she popped a blood vessel.

And to top off Lil's bizarre appearance, there was the unmistakable screech of an electric guitar that echoed off the stair case and made its way down to where I was standing, dumb-struck, in the doorway.

Now I understood what Lil had been yelling over. Why the hell had Phil chosen _today_ to get inspired? This wasn't an emergency, this was a damn catastrophe!


	4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

**I originally wrote this part of the story in chapter three, but I decided that it would have a greater effect (sorry if that's the wrong effect/affect. I've always been absolutely horrible at that.) if it was separated from the Tommy/Scarlett stuff. And for those of you who don't like the fact that Phil has changed so much, you're just going to have to suck it up, because I PROMISE that New Phil has a great deal of Old Phil in him. Enjoy!**

"YOU HAVE TO HELP ME, SCAR!" Lil bellowed in greeting over the wailing of Phil's guitar. "YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN STOP IT!"

I nodded vigorously, knowing that I would need to save my voice for when I approached Phil's room. I climbed the stairs, my palms clamped over my ears, and stood outside Phil's door, testing for butterflies. Nope, none. Did butterflies mean good or bad? This really wasn't the time to think about this, though, not when I was about to enter what was sure to be an emotional disaster zone.

I threw the door open, the music hitting me with its full force. He had his CD player, amp, and voice turned on full blast, and the power of it all was almost enough to send me flying back into the hallway. Almost.

"PHILIP DEVILLE!!! WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?"

Phil glanced over at me from where he sat slumped against the wall behind his bed, looking very teenagery and very angsty. The deep frown that he had been wearing lessened and he began to play a song, singing as loud as he could to be heard over his amp. I recognized the opening chords instantly.

_I could stay awake just to hear you breathing_

_Watch you smile when you are sleeping_

_Far away and dreaming_

_I could spend my life in this sweet surrender_

_I could stay lost in this moment forever_

_Well, every moment I spend with you_

_Is a moment I treasure_

This was one of my favorite songs in the world, and Phil knew that, but he wasn't going to make me smile. I was too pissed.

He hit the chorus and hopped off his bed, standing a few feet in front of me, and did a mock rock star move, slashing his guitar down wildly. It made this extremely cool whining noise, and he was so into it. Then he started singing to me again in his British Rock Star voice.

_I don't wanna close my eyes_

_I don't wanna fall asleep _

'_Cause I'd miss you babe _

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

'_Cause even when I dream of you_

_The sweetest dream will never do_

_I'd still miss you babe_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

I bit my lip to keep from singing along with him. That would only encourage him and get Lil pissed at me, too. Still, I loved the way he kept along, singing that song in his perfectly raspy voice. I had to admit, it was a supremely sexy voice. Even if the body it was attached to could be, and was currently being, an ass.

He finished the tune with a last, breathy verse.

_Don't wanna close my eyes_

_Don't wanna fall asleep, yeah_

_I don't wanna miss a thing_

I couldn't help it; I clapped when he was finished. He smiled at me and dropped his guitar on his bed, turning off his amp and pushing the stop button on the CD player, which had turned out to be nothing but a steady drum beat.

"Hey there, beautiful," he said a little too loudly, both of our ears still adjusting to the new silence. It was a strange thing; the Deville's house was NEVER silent. Sure enough, within two seconds there was a shout up the stairs from Betty saying that she loved me, and the usual noise ensued.

I laughed, shaking my head. "Okay, what happened?"

Phil was a vengeful being; if someone in his house offended him, he would ALWAYS get his comeuppance. This usually consisted of him being loud, distracting, and/or annoying in the best way he knew how. And we'd all witnessed it. However, sometimes someone wronged him outside of the house. That was when you knew you HAD to leave, otherwise you risked being blown out of the house with the sheer level of sound. And when Phil wanted to get revenge, there was only one person that could stop him. And that was why I had been called in.

"I was bored." Phil sat back down on his bed, and I followed him. He started to tune his guitar, even though it had sounded perfectly fine to me.

"Sure you were," I sniggered, taking the guitar away from him and resting it on the floor gently. "What about that song you were supposed to be writing?" I leaned back into his pillows, and he watched me all the way, as though afraid I might suddenly have a seizure and fly off the bed. Of course, he wouldn't be concerned for me in that situation, only that his precious guitar hadn't been damaged.

"Oh, I finished that as soon as I got home. It wasn't hard with the day's events," he chuckled darkly, a shadow passing over his emerald eyes. "But anyways, I didn't want to go to Tommy's. And it was evident he didn't want anybody but you there, anyways."

I shrugged, not even bothering to hide the little bit of flush that crept onto my cheekbone where Tommy had kissed me earlier. I wasn't into hiding things from Phil.

"Whatever. What's your new song about?" Phil always played his new songs for me, seeing as I was the only one that would listen to them. Most of the songs were about some girl, anyways, and I always loved trying to guess who she was.

"I already told you," he muttered, keeping his gaze locked on my deep blue eyes. I wondered what he was thinking and why he was looking at me like that. Not that it was a bad thing or anything, but not as many people were as intense as Phil. It was just his Phil-thing. If you just looked at us all as little kids, then flashed to where we were now, you might think you were looking at totally different people. All except for Kimi probably, who wouldn't let anybody change her if they held her at gunpoint. Gotta love Kimi, though.

"You aren't even going to play if for me?" I fake pouted, lowering my eyes to the guitar.

"What did you do with Tommy?" he wanted to know, ignoring my question and not lowering that concentrated stare to take in any of my puppy dog look.

"Oh, you would like to know, Philip." I swung my legs around so that they were forced into his lap, and sprawled out across his bed lavishly, like I was the secret barer of the world. This earned me a quiet chuckle from Phil, who unconsciously took one of my bare feet in his hand and started to massage it.

"Yes, actually, I would. I think it would make an interesting song idea, best friends becoming...uh…lovers." I burst into an uncontrollable fit of giggles at his word choice. Like hell he wanted to make a song about Tommy and me. More like he wanted the dirt so he could hold something over on Lil, and/or go Protective Older Brother on Tommy's ass.

"Um, what? Tommy and I are just friends, as of right now," I added, wanting to make sure no bad gossip spread back to Tommy.

Phil continued with his slow working out of them muscles of my feet, which was incredibly nice of him. It was true; musicians did have good hands. And not like that!

"So are you saying that best friends can't become lovers?" he demanded after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Stop using that word! And no, that is not what I'm saying. I mean, I don't know. I've thought a lot about it…and, you know, I think that the best couples would probably blossom from friendships."

Phil abruptly stopped his foot massage, making me wiggle my toes to get his attention. He smiled, running his fingers over them individually, which was odd but actually felt kind of great. "I've thought about that a lot, too," he muttered, as though to himself, but still looking straight into my eyes.

My heart fluttered for a second. Had I really almost admitted my plot to fall in love with either Tommy or the boy that was currently seated four feet away from me, playing with my toes? I was so STUPID! And now it sounds like Phil has the same plan. And then it dawned on me.

"Oh my God!" I shrieked suddenly, sitting upright quickly and leaning in secretively toward Phil. "You so like Kimi, don't you?"

I waited for my answer from a dumb-struck Phil. He licked his lips slowly, taking deep, even breaths. I could feel ever cool gust against my cheek, and it gave me tingly feelings all down my arms, giving me goosebumps.

I was just pondering the word goosebumps when the door popped open, and in came a jolly Mrs. Deville, going on about something that she had probably been saying before she even opened the door. "Hey, thanks for stopping the racket, Scarlett. We're about to eat and-" She stopped dead in her tracks.

It took me a moment to realize what she was looking at. To me, this seemed incredibly normal. I looked back at Phil's face, and took in how close it really was. I mean, this was probably an odd sight to see: Phil with his back up against the wall, still holding one of my feet, me, my legs thrown carelessly over his, huddled into his chest, our faces inches apart.

I sprang away from him, almost toppling off the bed. Phil gave me an admonishing glance before saying to his mother, "Yes?" I thought that it was hilarious how he could take this totally awkward moment and not even recognize uncomfortablness of it. That was something that never changes about Phil; he was whoever he wanted to be when there were no watchful eyes, but when there was parental supervision he was perfectly angelic.

"I…I was just going to ask if Scarlett wanted to stay for dinner." Even though the question was to me, Betty mainly directed the statement to her son, the curiousness nearly seeping out of her. God, was this horrifying.

"Oh, no thanks. My mom told me to be home by seven so we could order a pizza and watch movies tonight." Okay, so I had totally pulled that out of thin air. But what the hell? Why would I want to stay for dinner after I had just had one of the worst humiliations of my entire life?

"Do you want me to send Lil up or…." Betty trailed off unsurely, looking back and forth between Phil and me, obviously suspecting something.

"Actually I was about to play Scar a new song so…." Phil looked at me, totally playing up the tension in the room. Why the hell was he so damn cynical?

"Okay, okay. I guess I'll just leave you two kids alone then." She back slowly out of the room, giving me a knowing grin, before half-way closing the door. Phil waited til we couldn't hear her footsteps anymore before turning to me.

We stared at each other for a fraction of a second, the terror easily displayed in both of our eyes, and then we burst out laughing. It was that wild, all encompassing kind of laughter that makes your abs hurt so bad, but you want to keep going forever. I marveled at the way this were just…just so easy with Phil. I wished they were like this with Tommy.

"That…was…hilarious!" Phil sputtered, his cheeks becoming a pleasant cherry color.

I shook my head, leaning it back against the pillows again and covering my face with my hands. "That was horrible! She must think that we…you know…like each other!" I uncovered my face and ran my fingers through my hair. "Oh God! I'm so embarrassed!"

Phil's laughter immediately stopped. He frowned a little bit and narrowed his eyes. "What's so bad about me?" he asked, as though he genuinely wanted to know.

I started laughing again, thinking he must be joking, but abruptly stopped when I saw the look on his face. Did he look…hurt? What the hell? I had just figured out that he liked Kimi, so why would he look like that after what I just said?

"What?" I wanted to know, letting him see how confused I was. I mean, there had to be a reason he was so moody today. And I WAS going to figure it out, if it killed me.

Phil, seemingly reluctant, reached down and pulled his guitar from the ground. "I think you should hear my song." Was that an answer to my question. Uh, no, I don't think so. Why was he being like this? God, he was so frustrating sometimes.

"Sure, Phil, I will listen to your song because unlike some people in this room, I actually listen to my friends and tell them what I am feeling."

Phil looked down the strings for a minute, then looked back up at me, his green eyes glittering. "I am going to tell you what I'm feeling."

And without anything further, he began:

_When you smile_

_My heart leaps_

_And when you say my name_

_I silently beg you to do it again_

_So why can't you see_

_That I'm so in love with you _

_That it's killing me!_

_I know your secrets_

_You tell me them all_

_And I know the ones_

_You only tell_

_The girls at the mall_

_I can see it in your eyes_

_You love me, too_

_You just don't know it yet_

_But I promise you that you will soon_

_Do I have to force you to see_

_That he is not the one?_

_Do I have to make you believe_

_That it has always been me_

_And am I going to have to tear your heart apart_

_And then sew it back together?_

_And I going to have to be your friend_

_Plus your secret admirer_

_He doesn't like you_

_Can't you see that?_

_He wants another girl_

_But she is way too smart for that_

_And why can't you see_

_That I'm so in love with you _

_That it's killing me_

_Oh, baby, baby, baby_

_I could love you forever_

_And don't you know_

_That I probably will to_

_And why can't you see_

_That I'm so in love with you_

_That it's killing me_

He finished the last verse softly, not even looking down at his fingers, but gazing straight into my eyes. He gave me the chills yet again in that last line, feeling his silent intensity.

"Kimi will love that. You have to sing it to her." I closed my eyes, having just about drifted away to the gentle melody. It sounded like something you might sing to a little kid to get them to go to sleep. Well, the tune did, at least. The words just made your heart break.

Phil sighed, closing his eyes. "Whoever said that I wrote it for Kimi?" He reached up to pat down his wavy brown tresses, which were sexily strewn around his face. "And besides, I sung it YOU and you almost fell asleep."

I was so comfy and warm, and for some reason I just felt so protected in Phil's bed, that my thoughts started to become jumbled. I knew that I was falling asleep, but from the look I saw on Phil's face, he was, too.

"You were singing it to me, and you put me to sleep." I repeated drowsily. "It's my lullaby, then."

Phil smiled sleepily, as though he were dreaming, and said in a hushed tone, "That's what I'll call it then. Scarlett's Lullaby."

In my tired elation that I had an official song named after me, I didn't really think about how strange it was that a song written for Kimi would be named after me. But right now, I didn't really care. The only thing that I truly cared about were the droopiness of my eyes, and the way Phil had started to hum Scarlett's Lullaby to me again. And then I fell asleep. Right there in Phil's bed. With Phil. Is that weird or what?

**Okay, that was chapter four! I'm so excited that I've gotten so far with this story, because I really wasn't sure about it. After you see what Scarlett's like with both Tommy and Phil, who do you think it's going to be? I'm excited to hear what you have to say, so review, review, review!**


	5. Here Comes the Sun

**I've recently been pulling some diva moves, threatening that I would pull my story if I didn't get any reviews. Can I just say, that as pathetic and selfish as that sounds, I don't actually care because it works. Yes, I'm serious. Just review, because I don't want to have to threaten anyone ;^). Okay, and onto chapter five!**

I'm in love with a dumbass.

Except that she's not a dumbass! She's the most brilliant, beautiful, fun, hilarious person on the face of the planet. She's perfectly awkward to the point where it becomes almost comedic instead of uncomfortable. She's the only person in the world that can calm me down when I'm upset. And I'm so in love with her that it almost hurts me. And you know what? It sucks.

Yes, being in love isn't all happy rainbows like everyone makes it out to be. In fact, if I'm being honest, I hate it. Every single time I see her with another guy, I get this feeling in my stomach, like I might explode. You don't even want to know what I did to Anthony Brooks, or the guy practically stalked her after she broke up with him. And then there's the fact that practically every song I have ever written is about her, and she has no idea. I've sang about things that she's done, and she's still always trying to guess who the 'mystery girl' is. Her latest idea is that it's Kimi. Kimi! I mean, Kimi's no dog, but she's got nothing on Scar.

The thing about Scarlett is that she _knows_ me. There's a reason that she's always been the one to call me down. I don't know what it is, and I don't know why, but every time I see her…I just feel this wave of contentment wash over me. Like no matter what I say or do next, no matter how big of a rut I dig myself into, everything will be okay, but only if she's there. If she's not…well, if she's not, I'll just jam on my guitar until Lil calls her. That usually works.

And it's not like I'm completely devoted to her and no one else. Because she doesn't, and probably will never love me back. I mean, I'm still a guy. A highly sensitive, passionate, supermale, but still a guy. I can still appreciate a fine piece of ass, and I usually do. Like, a lot. Which is actually surprising seeing as I'm already in love. But screw people who doubt that I don't really love Scarlett, because they really have no idea. Except that no one really knows about how I feel for Scarlett, and the whole sleeping with random girls would probably throw them off, so…uh, I doubt that people would ever doubt me.

And then there's the whole Tommy thing. Let me just say something: if Scarlett knows me crazy well, then I know her psychotically well. So even before Lil told me about the whole her finding her soulmate in one of us, I knew that she was looking at me exceptionally strangely. At first I thought it was incredibly ironic that I was completely mad for her all my life, and then out of the blue SHE decides that she wants to find love, and things start to change.

But don't get the wrong idea. I mean, God forbid she ever looked at me the way she's been looking at Tommy lately. She seems to be taking the whole wanting to find her soulmate thing as wanting to realize that Tommy is the one for her. And I don't want to be the one to tell her this (especially because I'm not supposed to know anything about the current situation), but she is never going to realize Tommy is the one for her because he is NOT. And that's not saying that I am, just that I know he's not. In fact, he told me that he needed her opinion on some girl troubles he was having. And that girl is definitely not Scarlett.

I was thinking about all these things as I walked into the kitchen, my stomach grumbling, after school one day. I didn't even notice that Kimi and Lil were sitting at the kitchen table, painting their nails and whispering mindlessly to themselves. When I walked in the room, there was a sudden hush.

I felt Lil's eyes on me as I yanked the fridge open, pulling out some spray-on cheese that I made my mom buy special for me. I slammed the fridge shut, taking down two slices of bread from the bread basket and popping them into the toaster. I carefully arranged my ingredients on the kitchen counter: mayo, pickles, peanut butter, and corn chips.

"That really is disgusting, Philip," Lil scoffed from behind me. Kimi nodded in agreement, keeping her eyes steady on her hands, which were painting her right hand's fingernails a bright, obnoxious pink color.

"I don't care," I mumbled, seeing as Scarlett wasn't around. Scar hated when people mumbled. She said that if you wanted to say it, then you should fully open up your mouth. I smiled at a distant memory of her going off on Chuckie one day, unscrewing the jar of pickles.

Lil glanced back over at Kimi, a spark lighting up in her eyes. "Oh, yeah! The other day I told Scarlett that she couldn't be with my brother."

Kimi and I looked over Lil at the same time. "What? Why?" we said in unison.

Lil giggled. "Because he's gross." My sister gazed up at me, biting her lip. "But you don't care, do you Philip?" she asked, throwing his earlier words back into his face.

Kimi looked down again, shaking her head. "When is she going to learn?"

I was confused. This was how I had heard about the whole soulmate business in the first place, and right after that I had been sworn to secrecy. "When is who going to learn what?" I was kind of agitated. Why did Lil have to go around making things even harder for him? Because while it was true the he had never TOLD anybody about his secret love, it was also true that Lil, sharing some weird twin thing with him, and picked up on it. And then promptly told Kimi.

Lil answered, even though I hadn't been talking to her. "Scarlett. I mean, everybody knows that you two are going to end up together. It's just so obvious." Seriously? Who was everybody and how did they know that when even I didn't? "Me and Kimi have sworn to each other that even if she begs us to tell her who to be with, we have to let her figure it out on her own. That's the only way she'll ever know for sure, we think."

My heart soared momentarily. My friends and my sister, the people who knew me best, were predicting that I would get my unrequited love! This required a song, I believed, but I would wait at least until Lil was out of the house. It was the least I could do, considering she had been the barer of this good news.

"Ha, please, Lil. We didn't tell her who she SHOULD be with, but you sure as hell told her who sure COULDN'T be with. Isn't that right." Lil blushed a deep red, shrugging and looking down at her drying electric blue nails. Where the hell had they gotten this freaking nail polish from, anyways? Freaking Wonderland? "I'm sure Chuckie is going to be real happy when he learns that he was eliminated because of you. Oh, and Phil, your toast is burning." Kimi sniffed the air uneasily, adding this last part as an afterthought.

I didn't even need to ask about the whole thing with Chuckie. Just as Lil had picked up on Scar, I knew all about Chuckie. As for Kimi's last comment, I merely nodded, spinning around and popping my toast up, burnt to perfection. I laid both pieces on the counter, slathering on mayo on both sides, buttering two pickles with peanut butter and placing them side by side on one slice of the bread, and shaking up the cheese-in-a-can. I sprayed a good glob of cheese all over the top of my creation, and then took a handful of corn chips and crumbled them over the top, not even caring how much I spilled onto the countertop. I took the other mayo-ed and crispy slice and mashed it on top of my sandwich, the whole thing making a satisfying crunch. I plopped the whole thing down on a paper plate and picked the plate up.

Kimi and Lil, who had been watching me with disgust, exchanged a look with each other before going back to their nails. Just as I was heading out of the kitchen, Lil's phone buzzed. I watched her carefully pick it up, careful not to smudge her newly painted left hand, and slide it open. After a moment, she read the text out loud. "Scarlett says that she'll be here in a few, and that they actually did have her favorite Lime Green there, so suck it Kimi." The girls giggled a bit, and I chuckled to myself, heading up the stairs and back to my room.

Scar was coming over. This hit me like a monstrous wave of excitement, mixed with a bit of nervousness and anticipation. It wasn't like Scarlett didn't come over every other day, but I now had the information that I had been looking for; someone besides me thought Scarlett and I belonged with each other. And that was all I needed to progress further into my plan.

**Okay, that's about if for chapter five. Just so all you know, I meant what I said and I said what I meant, and an author is honest 100%! Okay, so I stole that a little bit, but whatever :^). But seriously, this is gonna be that last chapter for a little while, unless I see that somebody really reads this and wants me to go on. So reviews away!**


	6. Please Please Me

**I haven't updated in…um…awhile? But seriously, it hasn't been that long, it just may seem like it because I am so good about updating with my stories. So, sorry about that. Okay, let's see, we left off finding out that Lil and Kimi had found out about Phil's crush on Scarlett, and, much to Phil's pleasure, they have both predicted that the outcome of Scar's quest will be in Phil's favor. And now, good readers, I will leave you in the good hands of Lil, who has her own story to tell in this. Chapter six, AWAY!!!**

"Lil, I really think that he likes me like…you know! Wouldn't that be so amazing? That would mean that I was _right_!" Scarlett looked down at her tray of cafeteria food, smiling dreamily. I internally rolled my eyes; she could be so naïve.

"Yeah, I bet he does. But, um, does that mean that you've ruled out my brother. And his brother?" I watched her carefully over my Diet Pepsi. God, did I LOVE Diet Pepsi.

She gave me a sly smile. "And Chuckie?"

Damn her! I blushed furiously, suddenly not knowing where to look. I finally decided on the Nutrition Facts on my soda can. However, she was still staring at me, and I felt that I needed to give her an answer. "Mmm." I still chose not to meet her gaze, my flush only deepening.

Chuckie was a banned subject, and Scarlett well knew that. So what if I had a little crush on him? God, it wasn't like she didn't have one on Tommy! It was so unfair that she got to tease me, but any time I tried to say something back to her, she just got all happy and giggly. What was that? Wasn't liking someone embarrassing?

Luckily, she chose to drop it. But it was almost not worth it, because she launched into another analysis of what Tommy had said earlier, and what it meant. After a minute of this, I got VERY tired of hearing about him. Sure, he was cute, but to me? He was really nothing special. I decided to cut her off, trying to lead her in the right direction.

"Hey, what about Phil and Dil?"

She looked slightly hurt that I had interrupted her, but she just frowned and answered me. "Well, Dil is weird. And Phil…I don't know. You said he was gross."

Okay, Dil WAS weird. But now I was starting to regret messing with Phil and telling that her that he was gross. "Sure I did, but you already knew that. And you were considering him before."

She pondered this, then smiled wily. "Yeah, just like I was considering Chuckie."

"Ugh!" I practically screamed, slamming my empty Diet Pepsi can down on the table. "Would just leave me alone?!"

Scarlett stared at me, her eyebrows so far up her forehead they were almost at her hairline. She put her hands up in surrender. "Whoa, calm down there. I was only kidding."

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and shaking my head. "No, you're not. I just wish you could talk about something other than Tommy for once."

She looked down, seemingly unable to come up with anything other than Tommy related things. After a moment, the silence was getting just a bit too awkward for me, and I felt like I had to break it.

"You fell asleep in Phil's room a couple of nights ago. What were you doing there?" I had been trying to ask her this question for a little while now, but I had never felt the situation to be exactly right.

Scar looked up, vaguely interested, and mumbled, "He play me a song."

This sounded promising, so I pressed further. "So then why did you fall asleep?" I had walked in there about an hour and a half later, hearing no sound coming out, and found the two of them there. At first, I had been elated. Then I saw that they were on opposite sides of the bed, and Phil's hand was wrapped around her foot. It wasn't really all that special, but now that I heard there was a song involved, maybe it could be something more…?

She looked at me as though I was an idiot. "It was a lullaby." I felt like she didn't want to tell me anything about it, and that kind of made me mad. She could spend the entire lunch hour babbling about stupid Tommy, who didn't even like her like that, and then when it came to something I DID want to hear about, she wouldn't give me more than I few words worth.

"A lullaby?" When she gave me nothing more than an annoyed look, I continued. "What was it called? Did he say?"

She shrugged, finishing off her sandwich with a disinterested look, before swallowing and saying, "Uh, Scarlett's Lullaby. Not very original, huh? But I like it."

My eyes must have been completely bugging out, because she gave me a funny look. "You okay?" Was I okay? Yes, I was fine, but my brother certainly wasn't! I mean, how much more desperate was he going to get? He named a _song _after her, then SANG it to her for God's sake! He was so stupid! But then again, she was even stupider, because she still had no idea! I mean seriously, get a clue!

"Yeah, I'm fine. But, um, anyways, what was the song about?" I studied her as she thought back to that night. She bit her lip, tilting her head back.

"Ummm, about a girl, I think. Really pretty lyrics." Suddenly she perked up. "Oh, my God! Didn't I tell you who I think the songs are about?"

_Yes!_ I thought, _She's finally gotten it!_ I leaned in secretively, pretending like I didn't know who they were really about. "Who?"

She inclined her head towards me. "Kimi," she breathed, her eyes wide and honest.

What. The. Hell. Why was she being so dumb! "Oh, Kimi. Um, I don't know about that."

She looked disappointed. "No? Well, he got all defensive so I just thought…." She trailed off, looking away, and that's how it was for the rest of lunch. We ate in thoughtful silence.

"Lil!" The shout came from behind me, just as I was walking out of school. I turned around, slightly agitated at my thoughts being interrupted like that, but immediately felt better when I saw who it was.

The eyes of at least six girls followed him as he trotted down the steps, his wild orange curls bouncing. He smiled when he saw that I had stopped, his bright green eyes sparkling. He reached me, still grinning happily, and towered over me. I couldn't help but smile back at him, suddenly light hearted and carefree.

"Uh, can I walk you home, or something?" he asked, still shy, just like he used to be. That was the cutest part about him. Even though he was braces and glasses free, and even though he was tall and studly, he was still the same old shy, sweet boy he had always been. Minus the permanent allergy attacks.

I beamed at him, turning around again and heading down the sidewalk towards my house. Chuckie followed.

"So what's been going on?" he wanted to know, matching his long stride with my rather short one. He glanced down at me, trying to be discreet, and smiling again out of the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, same old. Still trying to hook up Scarlett and Phil. But she thinks she likes Tommy now, so obviously that's complicating things." I sighed, not wanting to come off as depressing but failing miserably. But Chuckie didn't seem to mind.

"That sucks. Yeah, Tommy just keeps going on and on about Suzie. He told me that if it ever got out about his feelings for her, he would know exactly who had done it because he had told me and only me." Chuckie rolled his eyes. "But it's not like we all don't know it. Oh, apparently not Scar."

I shook my head exasperatedly. "She _does_ know it, though! That's the thing! She just doesn't want to admit it to herself." Sometimes I just wanted to grab a hold of her and give her a good shake.

Chuckie nodded. "Yeah. Hey, what are you doing on Saturday?" I racked my mental calendar. Saturday day nights were usually date nights, but right now I didn't have a boyfriend so…. Oh, my God. CHUCKIE HAD JUST ASKED ME OUT!!!

"I, um, guess nothing…so, um…" I stuttered, afraid to look up at him in fear of him laughing at me. I took a deep breath, and sucked it up, because I had to know what he was thinking. I glanced up at him, and saw that he had a nervous expression on his face, and he looked slightly green. Aw, my Chuckie.

"Oh, okay." He bit his lip, looking anywhere but at me. We arrived at my house, and I could already hear Phil playing with a few chords in the house. I dreaded going in there.

I looked at Chuckie expectantly, not scared now but supremely anxious. He still wouldn't return my gaze, instead looking up at Phil's window. Anywhere but at me, right?

He looked back at me swiftly, his eyes looking panicked. "Well, bye, then." He ran a hand through his crazy hair, smoothing it back. It popped forward again instantly.

I felt the disappointment drop heavily into my stomach. I had been hoping so much that he would have asked me out, and now I was close to tears with embarrassment. "Bye," I said thickly, spinning on my heel and scampering away from him, wrenching open my front door.

"Lil, wait!" he called from behind me, but I didn't even look at him. This was just one time too many.


	7. Any Time At All

**I have a LOT of stories being written at the same time right now. In fact, there are two brand new ones that I JUST started. And I do usually update pretty quickly, seeing as I have no such thing as I first and second draft, but I've pretty much put this story on the backburner. Not because I don't like it, don't think that's true, but because I've been so caught up in other plots. But here is chapter seven!**

It was just me and Dil left in the Java Lava, and things were good. With me and Dil, this was just how things were. I would say something, he would answer back in some ridiculous way, and I would laugh. And that's how things would go, until my sides ached and my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much. Over the years, we had gotten pretty close.

"I should get you home," Dil suddenly said, all business. I smiled gently at his abrupt change of tone. Sure, this wasn't exactly how I would first choose to spend my Friday night, but it was pretty darn good. Earlier, all of my friends had been here, and we were laughing and talking, and for just today, there was no flirting, no worrying who liked me, just none of the stuff that had been going on in the past few weeks. And it had felt good.

"Dil," I sighed, standing up, "I can get myself home by myself." I grabbed my light jacket, rolling my eyes. He stood up, too, smiling goofily.

"Scar, I don't think you can." He glanced outside, where it was almost pitch black, and waggled his eyebrows.

I exhaled deeply, giving in with a small smile. "Fine. I'll let you walk me home just this once."

He grinned, walking forward and throwing his arm around my neck playfully. I hadn't noticed, but Dil had gotten pretty tall. He wasn't any giant (like Chuckie) but he was probably taller than Tommy, if not just as tall as Phil.

"Excellent." We walked out the door, his arm still comfortably slung around neck. "I would have let you go by yourself, but these days…."

He shook his head in pretend disgust, making me giggle a little bit. "What's so bad that you don't want me to go home by myself? The crime rate in our town is, like, zero."

"That's where you're wrong. You only know about what they want you to know." He leaned in secretively, his eyes darting around. "There are aliens, all around. Once you start looking, they're all over the place!"

I burst out laughing. Honestly, sometimes I really wish that I was in his head. I think it must be a very amusing place to be. "Dil! There are no aliens here! There are no aliens anywhere."

He scoffed at me. "That just goes to show you. The ignorant ones are always the first to go." We walked past dark building after dark building, moving towards the outside of town where the stores started to turn into big, old, spooky houses. This was always the creepiest part of town to walk through, and I was secretly glad that I had Dil with me.

"Sure," I taunted, turning around and taking a step away from him. I jogged a little bit ahead of him, right in front of a dark alley. I couldn't see a thing down it, but I wasn't scared. NOTHING ever happened here.

Dil froze. "Scarlett, get BACK here!" I smirked at his suddenly serious whisper, and how he looked almost frightened.

"Oh, please, Dil, it's fine. See?" I took a step into the alley, even though everyone always says never to go into a dark passage alone. I heard him whisper-shriek my name. I took another step, planning to hide then jump out at him.

That was when somebody grabbed my hand, pulling deeper in the darkness, putting a hand over my mouth to muffle my scream. Hot, wet breath filled my ear. "Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be." I struggled against his grip, but he just laughed raspy chuckle.

Tears streamed from my eyes as he forced me against a slimy brick wall, pressing up against me and running his hands down my back, all the way down to my butt, the wrapped his arms around my waist, forcing me into him.

His hand was still tight to my mouth, and I tried to bite it, anything to make him let go of me. I got ahold of a pinch of skin, making his hand flinch off just enough for me to make a desperate cry. "DIL!!!"

I couldn't hear footsteps, and my eyes were too blurred to see anything at all. I could smell the scent of stale beer and body odor, but nothing else. I was suddenly thrown on the ground, and I crumpled into myself, balling my legs into my chest. Everything went quiet, and I could hear his angry breathing somewhere above me.

"Oh, you're going to regret that, girly." He pulled something long, sleek, and silver from somewhere on his person, brandishing it in front of his face. He snarled down at me, raising the dagger above his head, getting ready to plunge it down, right into my flesh.

_Someone, anyone, please, help me._ That was the only thought in my head as I watched the knife come closer and closer, too paralyzed with fear to move or make any noise at all. The blade was a foot away from my chest when someone spun the man around, though I still couldn't see anything four feet from me.

"UGH!" came the grunt from my savior, winding up and punching the man in the face so hard that blood spattered the alley walls. I heard the body thump down next to me on the concrete, the dagger clattering to the ground. I didn't move for a second, not sure what had just happened to me. Then his face appeared next to mine.

"Scarlett, tell me you're alright!" Dil whispered, gently sliding his hands under my head and raising it for me. The street light peeked in from behind us, and I could see a sliver of his terrified face, so close to mine. But in that second that I saw him, everything changed for me. He was not only Dil, Tommy's younger, rather erratic brother, but my protector, my rescuer.

"I…I think I'm okay." He helped me up, my arm shaking horribly, and led me out of the alley. I brushed myself off, stood up a little straighter, and looked him right in the eye.

What I saw there made me completely pause. He was gazing down at me, looking so concerned and cute, his arms at my sides to steady me in case I got a little woozy. Something had changed, and it wasn't just that he had saved my life. It was different now, and I realized why that was. All my feelings for Tommy went right out the window, and, without thinking, I stood onto my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his.

**TWIST!!! Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you? Well, I think I like it, the whole Scarlett-Dil thing. But what about Phil? And Tommy and Suzie, and Chuckie and Lil? Well, we'll just have to see, won't we? Like always, please review!**


	8. Getting Better

**Wow. Just…wow. It's been WAY too long since I last updated this. Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I am a horrible person, don't even try and deny it. But the point is that I'm updating now. And because it's been so long, I won't talk for long. I'll just give you a quick run through of what's been happening, Glee-style: so, Lil likes Chuckie and wants him to ask her out, but he's too shy and maybe doesn't like her. Scarlett is trying to find her soulmate, and thinks it might be Tommy, but then Dil saves her and she kisses him. Meanwhile, Phil is still desperately in love with Scarlett, though she doesn't know that. And that's what you've missed on If I Fell! Onward with chapter eight!**

"I'm sorry, Scar. This isn't working out."

Scarlett looked up at me with confused eyes. "But…"

"But nothing. I love you like my sister, and I know that we'll be friends no matter what." And then I turned and walked away, unable to face her disappointed eyes. As much as I was making it appear that I was a cool cat, I was being torn up inside. So…no, I didn't really like her like that. But Scarlett fawning over me had earned me some Cool Points. God knew I needed some of those. And plus, she was one of my best friends. Hurting your best friends hurts you.

I hate Dil. I hate Dil for breaking Scarlett's heart. It's clear on her face that she's not taking this very well, and Dil is just going along his day, minding his own business. That's not cool. I wanted to punch Dil in his face the same way that he punched that guy that attacked Scarlett. Then maybe she would hero-worship and think that she loved _me_. I could get used to that.

I was sitting in English (the only class that we shared) when she walked in. Like usual, I saved her a seat next to me. Scarlett's face was the color of her name, and her eyes were the brightest blue I had ever seen them. She didn't look at me, just sliding into her desk chair and staring at the cool gray metal.

"You okay, Scar?" I asked her, acting like I didn't know. Scarlett was never one to be emotional, or to be called out on it. I had to be careful now, or she might freak out at me.

"I…" She trailed off without really even starting her sentence. Then she merely shook her head, staring directly at the chalkboard. I tried to catch her eye the entire class, but she was too distraught to even move. Then the bell rang, and her eyes started to fill with tears. She gathered her unused books in miserable silence.

"Hey." I leaned over, reached my hand out and tipping her head up with one finger. Her eyes darted all over the place before she finally forced them to focus upon mine. "Let's get outta here."

She looked confused. "But…but I have English next period, and then-"

I stood up. "Stop. We have to go." And then I took her hand in mine, fireworks shooting into my palm, and dragged her out of the classroom to the hall where we could talk better.

"Wait…we can't ditch, Phil!" She looked at me with wide eyes. Eyes so big and fearful and so empty of that sadness that it almost made me laugh with out loud with pleasure with myself. I was freaking awesome, wasn't I? She was already forgetting about Dil.

"Says who?" When she continued to just look at me, I chuckled, shaking my head. "C'mon! Live a little!"

She stared up at me, and I could almost see the gears ticking in her head. Then, ever so slowly, she smiled. And can I tell you something? I would run miles just to see that smile, I would throw my guitar out the window just to see that smile, and I would most definitely ditch class just to see that smile. It filled me up with this warm, glowy feeling. And I felt like a girl for even thinking about. Shit.

"Promise that you won't tell my mom?" She looked so adorable, standing there in the nearly deserted hallway with her hands clasped in front of her face. She gave me a very unneeded puppy dog look. "Please?"

"Well…" I pretended to hesitate, tapping my chin. "Fine, I guess." And then I took her hand and we ran.

* * *

Phil was the only one that could make me smile in the days after Dil broke up with me. I don't know what it was about Dil. I knew that a large part of what I felt was just gratefulness for saving my life. Another portion was vying for Tommy's attention. And I guess the rest just truly loved him. And so yeah, I knew that it was friend love, but after two months I pretty much convinced myself that I couldn't live without him. I thought 'This is it. You've finally found your soulmate.' And that made me feel like flying. And that was also why I was so crushed when I found out that no, he was not my soulmate. Not even close.

I probably should have been a little bit more…sad, I guess, that first day. D-Day. But that was the day that Phil and I ditched, and it just felt _good._ I had actual fun that day, and I forgot everything that happened. And every time I a bad thought about Dil, or a miserable one about how Dil and I were so good together, I thought back to that day. And I would smile. Because that was what Phil and memories of him made me do.

"Whatcha thinking about?" I looked over at Kimi. She was leaning towards me, a weary look upon her face. She had been looking at me like that for a few days. As a matter of fact, she had been looking at me like that since the day Dil broke up with me…

"I'm thinking that Phil is a great friend." I could always tell Kimi the truth. She, unlike Lil (who I did love dearly), would take a secret to the grave.

"Really?" She looked interested, though normally this would have made her roll her eyes and say something like 'Oh, Scarlett. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be in your head. Everything's probably in rainbows and flowers and little dancing elves.'

"Well…yeah. I mean, he's just been really good to me for the past couple of days. After…you know." I looked away. It was still a touchy subject, though by now I had pretty much come to terms with the fact that it wasn't all that bad, seeing as Dil wasn't my One.

"Oh. But just a friend?" She narrowed her eyes slightly, cocking her head. Sometimes I wondered what was going on inside her head. She was smart, this I knew, but she just seemed to know EVERYTHING about life. I wondered where that came from.

"Duh. It's Phil, come on. He's, like, my best friend. Now Tommy on the other hand…" I trailed off, the image of Tommy swimming into my head. Yum. Tommy had also been incredibly sweet to me, though I hadn't been able to conjure up a grin for him.

"Oh, God, not this again." She rolled her eyes, but I also thought that I saw something in them, something that worried me. I didn't like when Kimi kept things from me. It was almost unnatural. But she was doing it now, and I was getting frustrated. It almost seemed like…like she was keeping a secret. "Tommy is too good a friend of yours to lose."

I shrugged. Tommy was one of my best friends, true, but things wouldn't be ruined if we didn't end up together. Just a little awkward for a little while. "You're right. And we're such good friends that I would never be able to lose him if I tried."

Kimi sighed, looking away. I wondered yet again what she was thinking.

* * *

"I tried, Phil! She's just so set on Tommy that she doesn't notice the good thing she has right in front of her!" I laid on my bed, listening to Phil's agitated breaths.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" Phil hissed into the phone. From my end, I could picture him running his hands through his hair. "I've tried being her friend, I've tried flirting…I don't even know."

"Maybe you should try being a jerk," I suggested. Please. Phil was too sweet to be a jerk. And to be like that to Scarlett? Never.

"Ugh." Was all he said.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. I gotta go. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay. Thanks for nothing, Kimi."

I was about to yell at him, but he hung up first. Shaking my head, I threw my phone onto my pillows. I wanted Phil and Scarlett-two of my best friends-to be together SO bad. But it was just not working. Scarlett was so BLIND sometimes that it drove me crazy.

I rolled over onto my stomach, thinking about Him for what seemed like the millionth time today. It had felt so wrong to think about him in these terms when he was going out with one of my best friends, but now he was single and… NO! They had only been broken up for a week! What I wanted was so against the Girl Code I couldn't even begin to fathom a loophole.

So, Phil and Scar had to be together. When Scar was distracted with Phil, she was going to just be all happy-go-lucky and wouldn't notice that I was sneaking around with her ex… Oh, God, what was I even saying? I might as well kill myself now.

**KIMI! Yeah, I had to put in a little Kimi plotline. In the real show, I don't like Kimi's character. As a matter of fact, she's my least favorite. But whatever. This isn't the show, obviously. And, once again, SORRY for my absence. I've been…busy or something. Okay! Soooo, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW and tell me what you thought! Thanks, guys!**


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